It's All About Hot Fun In The Summertime

Ok everyone, it's June 1st! In the United States, Memorial Day weekend is over, and the unofficial start to summer has begun.

And so, the next K/CAL celebrating my five year design anniversary will begin - how's about a little summertime fun? This a-long will last for two months - all of June and July - and pretty much anything goes. Participants can make any of my designs (excluding my three free self-published designs), and works in progress will absolutely be allowed (because, hey, it's easy living in the summertime). Think lovely, lightweight shawls, easy-breezy-to-make home items, projects that can be made on-the-go, any and all of them will be fair game for the next two months.

To whet your summertime design appetite, I am thrilled to show you my latest design worked up once again for the folks at Yarnbox - the flirty and fun Summer Dance Shawl. Worked up in yummy Lorna's Laces Pearl, this worsted weight silk/bamboo blend blocks so amazingly well that just two skeins makes a generous, full-sized shawl. The openwork stitches make the best use of Lorna's Laces dye pot - it almost looks like dappled sunlight in an impressionist painting.

The other benefit of the stitch pattern? It's a breeze to work up! (Are you all now singing "hot fun in the summertime"?)

Do head on over to my Ravelry group to check out the K/CAL details, as well as the super summery yarn prizes I'll be giving away to two random winners once the a-long is over. 

Hot fun in the summertime, indeed.

The New Designs Just Keep Coming

Happy Friday, everyone! It's mid-January, and yet another new third-party published design is on tap to be introduced today,

Yarnbox is a monthly yarn subscription service that is doing great things with yarn dyers and producers, and I'm thrilled to be once again featuring a new design with one of the yarns in their monthly "classic" box. I'm so pleased to finally be able to introduce you to the Wyvern Warmer, and the wonderfully hand-dyed yarns of Jonathan Berner at MJ Yarns.

In fact, this is one design that was inspired almost entirely by the fiber used. I conceived and sketched this design based on the fiber content and weight of the yarn scheduled for the January classic box without actually having the yarn. Once I received it (and oh, what awesome color!) and swatched, I knew I was on the right track.

The resulting short poncho is bursting with great lace, color and style. The mix of alpaca, wool and silk provides wonderful warmth and great drape. Construction is super easy and it fits a wide range of sizes. 

I hope the Yarnboxers are as thrilled with this month's yarn selection as I was to design for it. This worsted weight yarn is, in a word, yummy.

Oh happy fiber arts Friday!

The Anchor Design This Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday

Hello, everyone - I'm here to, among other things this jam-packed Friday, introduce you to my final design from Fleurs et L'eau - my Climbing Vines Cowl.

This anchor design of the collection is an easy-to-make, stunning (and versatile!) accessory for summer. Worked up in a cream-colored cotton blend, this was the model favorite of the shoot. I was pleased that it worked so well with both a summer dress as well as jeans.

 Both of my testers also produced lovely finished cowls using sock (fingering weight) yarn with a minimum of effort (and their photos are used  below with kind permission).

See - great with jeans!

 
 
What could be better for a summer project?

As it currently stands, Le Bateau shawl is just edging Climbing Vines in the voting for the next JAL, which voting will remain open until the end of Sunday. Definitely head on over to my Ravelry group and join us in our next hooking adventure.
 
I'm thrilled that Fleurs et L'eau will now go on une petite bloggy tour. During the rest of June, you'll have a chance to win a copy of the e-book if you visit the following blogs:

 

Week of 6/10: Underground Crafter
Week of 6/17: Our very own Wisdom Begins in Wonder
Week of 6/21: Bits and Pieces

My sincere thanks to my fellow bloggers for hosting these e-book giveaways; I expect each will have a unique perspective on the collection, so I hope everyone will check out all three blogs.

Fashionable shades optional.

Finally, Yarnbox (a new monthly yarn subscription service) was kind enough to post an interview with me! I was their May crochet designer (and provided a special deal on Voie de Vie patterns exclusively for their crochet subscribers), so they conducted a related interview. It's a little weird to be on the other side of the interview mic. :)

Now do make certain you get over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and check out what Andrea has to say - there's always something fibery going on at the farm.